Mound Bayou Telephone & Communications, Inc.

Mound Bayou Telephone & Communications, Inc., doing business as Arriva, is a rural broadband infrastructure provider based in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, that operates as a federal grant recipient and sub-recipient, with 80% of recent awards flowing through state intermediaries rather than as direct prime grants. The company is a for-profit corporate entity with no federal contract vehicles or prime contract awards; its federal footprint consists entirely of grant work.

Arriva's only prime federal grant award is a $3.52 million Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (CFDA 10.752), executed July 19, 2023, running through July 19, 2025. The award funds broadband infrastructure investments and job creation in rural Mound Bayou, targeting areas with insufficient broadband access. Arriva also operates as a sub-recipient under four separate federal grants from the Mississippi Department of Finance & Administration, all supporting public Wi-Fi infrastructure builds. These sub-awards are dated November 12, 2024, October 1, 2025 (three instances), and October 10, 2025.

Activity has accelerated recently: one award in 2023, one in 2024, and three in 2025. Combined federal dollars obligated across all five awards total $4 million. The customer agency breakdown shows concentration split between the Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (one award, the prime grant) and the Department of the Treasury Departmental Offices (four awards, all sub-awards routed through Mississippi). The mismatch between grantor (Treasury) and stated funding agency (USDA) for the sub-awards reflects pass-through funding structure common in state broadband grant programs. Arriva's capability footprint is narrowly focused on rural broadband deployment and community Wi-Fi infrastructure build-out, with no commercial or defense contract exposure and no participation in federal contract vehicles.